Teenaged girls trafficked to the Mideast
The News features a horrifying story by Shakeel Anjum, who reports:
ISLAMABAD: The irony is chilling. Even before they could bloom into flowers, teenaged flower-selling girls are being trafficked to some Middle East countries ostensibly for employment but only to be used for physical pleasure.
The poor girls, who sell flowers on Islamabad roads, are being trafficked on passports bearing fake names by a new racket as startling details of the ordeal of one such girl reaches before the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP).
[…]
The main accused Parveen lured the young flower vender to Muridke, a town near Lahore, impersonating her as real sister under the name Shama. She, later, took Nazia to Nadra centre and got her a CNIC as Shama, daughter of her (Perveen’s) own father Muhammad Shafi. Later, Nazia was issued passport on the basis of this fake CNIC. She was sent abroad and was sold for prostitution in Dubai.
[…]
“The racket has smuggled about 40 young girls to the Middle East for prostitution,” Hashmi added. The police arrested all the nominated accused — Rafaqat, resident of District Narowal, Parveen, Anees Ahmed and Allah Rakha r/o District Sheikhupura.
The gang members, during questioning, confessed Nazia was enticed by Parveen when she used to sell flowers in Saddar area and district courts area of Rawalpindi. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official said the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (PACHTO) 2002 empowers the agency to enforce the ordinance and break into the nets of human smugglers and traffickers.
